Concentrations of resveratrol and derivatives in foods and estimation of dietary intake in a Spanish population: European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Spain cohort

Resveratrol has been shown to have beneficial effects on diseases related to oxidant and/or inflammatory processes and extends the lifespan of simple organisms including rodents. The objective of the present study was to estimate the dietary intake of resveratrol and piceid (R&P) present in foods, and to identify the principal dietary sources of these compounds in the Spanish adult population. For this purpose, a food composition database (FCDB) of R&P in Spanish foods was compiled. The study included 40 685 subjects aged 35–64 years from northern and southern regions of Spain who were included in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Spain cohort. Usual food intake was assessed by personal interviews using a computerised version of a validated diet history method. An FCDB with 160 items was compiled. The estimated median and mean of R&P intake were 100 and 933 μg/d respectively. Approximately, 32 % of the population did not consume R&P. The most abundant of the four stilbenes studied was trans-piceid (53·6 %), followed by trans-resveratrol (20·9 %), cis-piceid (19·3 %) and cis-resveratrol (6·2 %). The most important source of R&P was wines (98·4 %) and grape and grape juices (1·6 %), whereas peanuts, pistachios and berries contributed to less than 0·01 %. For this reason the pattern of intake of R&P was similar to the wine pattern. This is the first time that R&P intake has been estimated in a Mediterranean country.

The present study is part of the EPIC-Spain Study. The EPIC Study in Spain has received financial support from the Health Research Fund (FIS, 02/0652) of the Spanish Ministry of Health, the ISCIII (RETIC-RD06/0020 and the CIBER in Epidemiology and Public Health) and the Spanish Regional Government of Andalusia, Asturias, Basque Country, Murcia and Navarra and the Catalan Institute of Oncology. Some authors are partners of ECNIS, a network of excellence of the EU 6FP. AGL2006-14228-C03-02/ALI and Program Ingenio CONSOLIDER CSD2007-063 also contributed to the present study. R. Z.-R. was supported by the Departament d'Universitats, Recerca i Societat de la Informació (Catalunya).